I recently replaced my power steering pump in my 2006 Infiniti M35 sport because it was leaking. Turns out it was really just the o-ring on the connector (I forget the name) but I have the new pump installed and no leaks. When I refilled my power steering fluid, the car was off and the level read just under max cold. When I start the car the fluid drops to nearly the bottom of the reservoir. When I turn it off, the level is back up to the top. I hesitate on adding more fluid. Is is possible I just have air in the line? It seems weird that the fluid would drop when the car is on as the level should be rising I think. Any advice is appreciated.

Yeah, the fluid level should go up when the car is on (which is why the fluid hot max line is above the fluid hot min line), I think your hypothesis of air may be accurate.

Has to be either a bubble trapped on the pressure side or inside the rack, or an obstruction on the return side. Probably the former with a new pump, frequently air will trap in the top of the pinion assembly. It's messy, but you can usually clear that by cracking the fittings at the pinion, like bleeding a brake but with the car running.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 10, 2022 7:52 am

Has to be either a bubble trapped on the pressure side or inside the rack, or an obstruction on the return side. Probably the former with a new pump, frequently air will trap in the top of the pinion assembly. It's messy, but you can usually clear that by cracking the fittings at the pinion, like bleeding a brake but with the car running.

Thanks for the advice, I'll take a look and see if I can manage to clear it.

I thought I'd give an update, it was an air bubble but I didn't have to do much to get it resolved. I used a combination of just turning the wheel back and forth, shaking the car left to right and pushing down on the front end repeatedly to get it to burp. was able to add more fluid and now it's driving just fine. Thanks for the advice.

Excellent! Drive safe!

how involved was it to remove/replace the power steering pump?

cruzad3r wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:14 pm

how involved was it to remove/replace the power steering pump?

I’m wondering the same thing, might have to replace emine